FAIRFAX, Va. — “Jealous” Johnny Depp was often drunk — and once chucked a wine bottle at Ellen Barkin, the actress testified Thursday in her ex-lover’s defamation trial against Amber Heard.
“He was drunk a lot of the time,” Barkin said about Depp in a recorded deposition played for the Fairfax, Va., jury, noting, “He was a red wine drinker.”
The two actors had a fling in the 1990s while filming “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Barkin said, recalling an incident where Depp allegedly launched a bottle of wine in her direction while fighting with others in a Sin City hotel room.
“I don’t know why he threw the bottle,” she testified, adding, “It was more like a toss.”
The projectile didn’t hit anyone, said Barkin, who could not recall who else was present or if the bottle was empty or full.
The Bronx-born actress said she had a “romantic” relationship with Depp in the 1990s — before changing her mind and asking the lawyer deposing her, “Can you change that to sexual?”
The two slept together about three to four times a week for five months in 1994, said Barkin, who called Depp as a “jealous man” and “controlling.”
“I had a scratch on my back that once got him very, very angry because he insisted it came from me having sex with a person who wasn’t him,” she said in the deposition, recorded in 2019 and played for jurors in the Virginia trial on Thursday.
She also said Depp was “drunk all the time” in an “out of control” way and she witnessed him doing cocaine and hallucinogens, as well as smoking weed.
“He was always drinking and smoking a joint,” she said.
Barkin, 68, was among a slew of witnesses once close to Depp who testified about his career’s downfall, describing alleged incidents of unhinged behavior and struggles with drug use.
Depp’s former psychiatrist, for instance, testified that the 58-year-old star struggled to stay sober as his relationship with Heard crumbled.
“He used drugs to cope with psychic wounds,” Dr. Alan Blaustein said, according to a recording of his testimony played in court.
In his notes from one of their sessions, Blaustein said Depp referred to Heard as, “Such a pain in the ass.” He said the actor felt “frustration, impatience and anger” with Heard, 36, during their marriage.
According to a message sent to the doctor, Depp told Heard, “You’re being my mother and psychotic sister.” The actor has previously testified that his mom, Betty Sue Palmer, physically and psychologically abused him when he was growing up.
Blaustein, who was deposed in January, also testified that Depp and Heard’s relationship issues well before their doomed nuptials in February 2015. He recalled the actor expressing doubts about getting married at 51 years old.
“[Their relationship was] a lot of love, a lot of disappointment, a lot of fear,” he said.
Bruce Witkin, a music producer, also weighed in on the actor’s alleged substance-abuse problems, saying he witnessed his former friend snort cocaine for the first time in 2014, which surprised him because he said the actor hated the drug as a teen. He also recounted seeing Depp do cocaine with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
Witkin, who fell out with Depp in 2017, testified that the actor had tried to kick his drug habit a couple of times but it didn’t stick. Witkin said he recommended that Depp try therapy.
“He did it a little bit, but then he stopped because, in my experience, it’s deep-rooted issues that he’s dealt with that has nothing to do with Amber,” Witkin said.
Tracey Jacobs, Depp’s former agent at the United Talent Agency, recounted how she helped the movie star build a stellar career — only for him to squander his success through drugs and alcohol.
“It worsened over time,” Jacobs said of Depp’s behavior.
“[Depp’s] star dimmed,” Jacobs said. “People were talking, and the question was out there about his behavior.”
Depp was “showing up late to set consistently on virtually every movie,” testified Jacobs, who also spoke to the jury via taped deposition.
The Hollywood power broker said she was fired in 2016 because Depp “terminated essentially everyone in his life and I was along for the ride, I guess.”
She testified that no one at Disney had committed to hiring Depp for the sixth installment of the “Pirates” franchise in conversations with her.
Depp has claimed he lost tens of millions of dollars — including a giant payout for the sixth “Pirates” flick — over Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed calling herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp has denied allegations of physical abuse and excessive use of drugs and alcohol.
Tina Newman, a production executive at Disney, also testified she had never seen any documentation that referenced the op-ed, never discussed it and did not hear of or partake in discussion of its impact.
Depp’s claim that Heard lied about the allegations tarnished her career more than his, Heard’s talent agent testified.
Jessica Kovacevic said Heard should have become a major star after “Aquaman,” which premiered in late 2018 and grossed over one billion dollars.
While she said you couldn’t prove direct causation, she believes there is a connection between the former couple’s highly public accusations and Heard’s lackluster career prospects.
The jury also heard from Johnny Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman, who allegedly helped the actor mount the supposed “smear” campaign against Heard.
Heard claims Waldman told the press on three occasions in 2020 that she had fabricated her claims of abuse against Depp.
Those three claims are the subject of Heard’s $100 million countersuit against her ex-husband.
Because he still represents the actor, Waldman — who testified via pre-recorded deposition — was able to avoid answering most of the questions posed by Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft, citing attorney-client privilege.
Other witnesses who testified on Thursday included a social media expert who discussed negative tweets about Heard, the LAPD’s domestic violence coordinator and Depp’s former business manager, who said the actor would spend $300,000 a month on staff.
Court will resume Monday, May 23, for what is set to be the last week of the highly watched trial.